Forbidden
by Frontier of Darkness
Summary: Mariah moves into a new high school and makes friends with Mariam. The two soon become inseparable. Then Mariah slowly finds herself falling for a certain black-haired white tiger. Ray also happens to be Mariam’s sworn enemy. But Ray's dating Salima! RM
1. Meeting

Forbidden  
  
Disclaimer- I am NOT used to any romance stuff. I know this story probably might stink up this place but I'll give it a shot.  
  
Summary: Mariah moves into a new high school and immediately makes friends with Mariam. The two soon become completely inseparable. Then Mariah slowly finds herself falling for a certain black-haired white tiger. Unfortunately, Ray happens to be Mariam's sworn nemesis. To make matters worse, Ray already has a girl friend by the name of Salima. Will this story end happily ever after? Ray/Mariah  
  
*scratches head* I guess I really have strange ideas, eh? (I'm Canadian!!! Cool!)  
  
Chapter one: Meeting  
  
***  
  
"I figured that I might get a little lost on the first day at Beyville High, but this... is ridiculous!" yelled Mariah, banging her head on the side of the wall. "Turn right... down the hall until you see another turn... then go left... then right... then through the door. What kind of directions are THOSE?!" she complained loudly.  
  
After following those directions from her mom, who had been to the school they day before, Mariah found herself completely lost, not to mention very late. The worst thing was she hadn't even made it to the OFFICE yet.  
  
"Where am I?!?!" Mariah wailed, banging her fists on the ground. Just then, she heard someone giggle from behind her.  
  
"Feeling a little lost?" the voice asked politely. Mariah spun around and became face to face with someone who could have easily been her twin or clone. The only exception was that she had navy blue hair that was held up by a red hair band and piercing green eyes. The girl was twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Mariah blushed, thinking that she had made a complete fool out of herself in front of the stranger. Deciding that she couldn't embarrass herself any further, she asked.  
  
"Um, where is the office?" she stammered. The blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow and pointed over her shoulder.  
  
"Is that what you're looking for?" she asked coolly. Mariah slowly turned around and gaped. Behind her was a large door with a sign hanging over it which read, "OFFICE". Mariah blushed crimson.  
  
"Oops. Silly me." She laughed nervously. She sighed, expecting to be tormented by the girl. But to her surprise, she smiled empathically.  
  
"First day?" she asked kindly. Mariah nodded. "It's all right. Sometimes you get so nervous that you often become forgetful of clumsy. I remember my first day here. I couldn't tell the difference between the closet doors and the classrooms. I got myself locked in one halfway between second and third period. My name's Mariam. What's yours?" Mariah gladly took the extended hand and shook it.  
  
"I'm Mariah," she smiled. At least now she had someone to depend upon.  
  
~Scene Change~  
  
"So, how do you like Beyville, so far?"  
  
"I guess its okay. They could have more signs hanging around though. I got a bit lost on my way to English class," sighed Mariah. "I think I'll actually have more luck finding my way around outer space than this place." Mariam laughed.  
  
"I would say you'd have better luck getting around once you get used to it, but that really isn't true. I still end up in corridors that I'm sure were never there once in a while."  
  
"But at least now you can remember where the office is," Mariah joked. Mariam faked a thoughtful look.  
  
"But you'd think that you'd recognize something if they have gigantic signs hanging all around it."  
  
"Oh, shut up. Anyway, I could have sworn that the halls in this place can move. Kinda like--"  
  
"-In Hogwarts," they both finished in unison. Both of them looked at each other in surprise, and then smiled.  
  
"I think we'll get along just fine," they agreed.  
  
***  
  
Later on that day, the two girls made their way to their last class that day. It was a double period and unfortunately, their last class was the unspeakable evil... math. Mariam and Mariah chose seats at the back of the classroom where they were safe from the evil teacher's droning. They were just discussing whether the Math teacher was uglier or the Choir teacher when the door suddenly swung open.  
  
Curious at whom the newcomer was, Mariah looked up at the front of the class and felt her cheeks heat up and she could have sworn that her heart had nearly stopped. His long raven black hair was tied back into a long silky ponytail and Mariah soon found herself lost in his warm golden eyes. (A/N Sue me, as I said before, I CAN'T WRITE ROMANCE!!) His feline like features made him look like an angel in her eyes.  
  
Most of the other females in the room seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Some of them actually swooned while others were heard squealing excitedly, "He LOOKED at me!!" Mariah was shocked to hear a low growl come from her friend instead.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, turning to face her.  
  
"He's such a jerk," was her reply. (A/N NO FLAMES! NO KILL!!!) Mariah looked at her incredulously. Ray sat down across the room from them after apologizing to the teacher for being late. Mariam sent a glare in his direction.  
  
After class, Mariam stomped angrily out of the room with Mariah in tow. A bunch of girls swarmed over to Ray demanding his autograph while said autographer dashed out of the class with a few of his friends at his heels.  
  
"They're all wasting their time," Mariam spat, "Ray already has a girl friend, Salima." She then walked away from the classroom, failing to notice the pained look on her friend's face.  
  
***  
  
I suck, but no flame!!! PLEASE!!! Just give me a few comments. Tell me whether I should keep writing or not.  
  
Signing out,  
  
FrontierOfDarkness 


	2. Unending Hallways

Forbidden  
  
*blink, blink* Huh? How did _I_ manage to get all these reviews? *blink, blink* Maybe it was just another nasty trick...  
  
I need a little help deciding the couples. So far, I've decided on Max/Emily, Hilary/Tyson, Ray/Mariah, and Salima/Kane. Please vote on who should be paired up with:  
  
Mariam  
  
Ozuma  
  
Kai  
  
Tala  
  
Kenny  
  
VOTE, people!  
  
Note: If you have HUGE problems with any of the couples, please tell me so and I'll see what I can do. And if you really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY want a certain couple in the story, I'll consider putting in hints. ^_^ I kinda wanted to make it Mariam/Kai, Mariam/Ozuma or Mariam/Tala (happy, Angela?). Anyways it's up to you.  
  
And sorry Salima and Ray fans. This probably isn't going to end Salima/Ray (BOTH my friends in my class promised me slow and painful deaths if it does) but if Mariah wasn't in season one, I'd probably write it that way. ^^;;  
  
Enough ranting, on to the story!!  
  
Chapter two: Unending Halls  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Mariam, wait up!!" yelled Mariah, jogging a bit just to keep up with her angry friend. The said friend just kept storming up the hallway as if she didn't hear her. Maybe she really didn't or maybe she was just pretending. Maybe it was both. "I said wait!" she yelled again. Mariam slowed to a stop and turned around with a controlled expression.  
  
"Sorry, I guess I just got angry," It didn't seem like much of an apology since her shoulders were shaking with suppressed rage and one of her veins seemed ready to explode. Well, kind of... Mariah stepped back a step in shock.  
  
"What's wrong, Mariam?" she finally managed to ask.  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all," Mariam responded. Mariah concluded that she was a very bad liar.  
  
"But what made you run off like that?" she asked cautiously. Mariam stiffened.  
  
"I forgot something at my locker," she said rather unexpectedly, "I'll go get it. I'll meet you at the front of the school outside, okay?" she asked, "Do you remember how to get out?" she furrowed her eyebrows. Mariah nodded a bit unsurely.  
  
"Of course. Right out that door, right?" Mariam nodded and turned around a corner and disappeared from Mariah's sight. Mariah sighed, and then walked down the corridor that she had previously pointed at.  
  
"Boy, this had been such an, interesting day. I've made friends with Mariam who seems like such a nice person to be around," Mariah didn't notice that the hallway was getting darker, "But I wonder why she seemed to really dislike Ray," the hallway seemed to get narrower, "Is Ray really such a bad person?" Mariah stopped in her tracks and sighed. In her heart, she sincerely hoped that he wasn't. She really wanted to get to know him better. Well, you couldn't really say better since they've never spoken to each other. Mariah was about to continue walking again until she suddenly realized that there was a fork in the hall. She suddenly started to panic. She hadn't remembered that there.  
  
"I... think it was... that one!" she said, randomly selecting the corridor on the left. Closing her eyes for a moment and hoping that her intuition was to be trusted, the pink-haired girl headed down the passageway.  
  
She rounded the corner and bit back a yell of frustration as she became face to face with yet another fork.  
  
"The building designers thought it was funny, did they?" she snarled as she ran down the hall again, this time choosing the right one. (No pun intended.)  
  
But, as all the cliché and classical stories demands, she just had to come across yet another fork.  
  
"Argh!!!!!!"  
  
~A Little Bit Later~  
  
"D***! Where am I, NOW!!!!!?" Mariah cursed, banging her fist on the wall. It was starting to become a habit. Just then, Mariah heard a loud bell, signifying the departure of all the students from the building. The worst thing was that, it also signified the lockage of the building. "Oh, _great_!!" she yelled again. She didn't realize that it was so late already. Suddenly, (maybe it was her imagination but) it seemed that the halls became a lot eerier. Before, even through the walls, Mariah had heard the happy shouts of all the other kids in the building although it was too hard for her to figure out which directions they came from. But now, the building became deathly quiet. She felt goose bumps steadily creep up on her arms. All of the shadows seemed to move about on their own accord. She could have sworn that she saw a shadowed figure run across the foyer.  
  
"Heeeeeelllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooo?!!!?????!!!!!!!??????!!!!!????? !!!!!!???? Is somebody theeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeee???!!!!????!!!!!!?????!!!!!!!???? ???" she called. And of course, in all the cliché stories and movies, nobody answers and no sounds are heard except for the little scratching noises and the imaginary evil footstep. But of course, she's probably just imagining them. Probably.  
  
"Great. What a great way to start off the term," Mariah muttered bitterly to herself. "Well, at least I didn't get locked in a closet." She sighed, wondering where Mariam was now. "I wonder if she got stuck it there as long as I did." She now sat down on the cold stone ground and hugged her knees to her stomach. "Maybe this is tradition for welcoming all the new students." She laughed bitterly. Mariah buried her head in her arms which she rested on her knees.  
  
"I wonder if anyone will find me." Was her lasted thought before she drifted off to sleep.  
  
She was woken up to the sound of footsteps. Yes, that right, the boring classical cliché footsteps. Rubbing her blurry eyes, she glancing around, trying to remember why she wasn't in her bed. Then it hit her. She was still stuck inside her smelly old new school. But then, to top things off, she suddenly heard, voices. She narrowed her eyes and tried to decipher them.  
  
"Are you sure this is a good idea, you guys?" said a first voice anxiously.  
  
"Of course. Aren't you a little curious about whether the rumors are true?" asked a second.  
  
"I guess." The first one replied. Mariah strained to hear them. 'What rumors?' she asked herself.  
  
"Good. Now let's keep going!" the second voice exclaimed.  
  
"But what if we get caught?" a third, familiar, voice spoke up. Mariah nearly gasped. She had heard that voice somewhere before, but where? Just then the footsteps paused.  
  
"Guys!" yelled a fourth, slightly high-pitched voice, "I think we're not alone!" it yelled, "I hear somebody _breathing_ just further up ahead!" he sounded slightly panicked. Mariah gulped.  
  
"Who's there?" called the third voice. A beam of light from a flashlight now started to move over to where Mariah was. "Show yourself!" Mariah hesitated. 'What if they're criminals?" she wondered.  
  
"Come out now!" the first yelled. Deciding that they sounded too young and scared to belong to real criminals, she hoisted herself up and stepped into the light.  
  
"Er, hi!" she said, "Nice weather, huh?"  
  
Five shocked faces stared at her.  
  
"Hey wait, I know you!" one of them suddenly spoke up, "You're Mariah, aren't you?"  
  
***  
  
A/N MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Suspense!!!  
  
What's going to happen next? Who are the five people? Who cares?  
  
See you soon!  
  
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\/ The button says "GO". Click it! If you want another update, that is!! VOTE!! 


	3. Behind the Walls

Forbidden  
  
*sniff* Wow, you make me feel so loved! *sniff*  
  
It seems that everyone, or almost everyone, wants Mariam/Ozuma. ^^ I guess I'm okay with that. I really like that couple too although Ozuma seems a bit short... anyway... Kai/Mariam is all right with me too.  
  
You were almost right Anime4u2, the third voice is *drum roll* Ray! But you were a bit off on the other ones. ^^;  
  
Note: Should Kenny appear in this story?  
  
Second Note: Don't kill me if I put a bit of Ray/Salima hints in. It's essential to the plot...  
  
Third Note: Would you mind if I put in an OC?  
  
.  
  
There's a bit of a side plot today. I thought that you might like some adventure. (Actually, it was partly because I got a bit of writer's block.)  
  
Thank you all for reviewing and voting!  
  
Chapter 3: Behind the Walls  
  
***  
  
"You're Mariah, aren't you?" Mariah lifted her hand over her eyes to block the light coming from the offending flashlight and gazed at the small crowd of people in front of her. The first person who had spoken had messy blond hair and sparkling blue eyes which were narrowed in suspicion. A girl with shoulder-length orange hair was peeking at her over the boy's shoulder through a pair of large violet eyes. The second was a boy with dark blue hair tucked beneath a baseball cap, standing next to a brown-haired girl wearing a strange-looking pink shirt. Mariah's gaze then traveled to the third speaker and felt a familiar warmth rise up to her cheeks. She struggled for a while to find her voice.  
  
"A-Aren't you R-Ray Kon?" she stuttered, before mentally slapping herself. She thought that she probably looked like an idiot right about now. But Ray looked half surprised that she knew his name and on the other hand, a bit... well... flattered... No, she probably just imagined it. Pulling herself together and ignoring the strange looks that the rest of the group shot at her and Ray, she asked, "What are you guys doing here?"  
  
The blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same question." Mariah shifted around on her feet uneasily.  
  
"I kinda... well... got lost?" It was more of a question than a statement.  
  
"Uh huh..." It was fair to say that he didn't seem to believe her. Just then, a loud, shrill scream and a distant rumble erupted all around them, interrupting their awkward conversation and nearly shook the whole building. All six of them quickly covered their ears and dived to the ground with their arms over their heads, trying to avoid being hit by the falling debris.  
  
"What's going ooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnn???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shrieked Mariah through her arms, demanding an answer.  
  
"Even if we knew, that still wouldn't help us!!" screeched the blond boy, sounding slightly muffled.  
  
"Well, at least we wouldn't have to die, not knowing what was going on!" the brunette yelled.  
  
"But I don't wanna die!!"  
  
After the ceiling stopped caving in, they cautiously peaked from underneath their arms and slowly got up, glancing around them. The floor was now littered with bits of the ceiling and the walls.  
  
"Did we make it?" asked the blue-haired boy who Mariah had identified as Tyson Granger from her science class.  
  
"Well, I'm sure this place couldn't be heaven (although it reminds me a lot of what they call hell)," responded Ray. Tyson sighed.  
  
"At least we found out that the rumors were true." Mariah raised an eyebrow.  
  
"That reminds me, what rumors _were_ you talking about?" she asked. The blond boy, or Max, as we know him, explained,  
  
"There were a bunch of rumors flying around, saying that there was some sort of ... creature or thing ... hidden inside this school. Kids have reported that people have been mysteriously disappearing from here. The reason why we don't get chemistry anymore was because the chemistry teacher, Mr. Nitro Jen, suddenly up and disappeared. The last time someone saw him, he was walking down this exact same corridor." Mariah shuddered.  
  
"And that wasn't all," Ray cut in, "Already fifteen other kids had already vanished. Some of them wandered down here by mistake like you did but most were like us, trying to find out what really happened. But all the same, none of them ever came back."  
  
"But are you sure that this wasn't just a coincidence? I mean, the police don't seem to have reported anyone disappearing at all," Mariah said.  
  
"That's because they don't want people getting worried. The principal is afraid that he would get sued and be blamed for the disappearances," added Tyson, "and from what I've heard, the parents of the missing children are being fed some lies about their kids being elected to go on an expensive, all expenses paid, trip to Hawaii." He scrunched up his nose in disgust.  
  
"And now, it's up to us to find out what's really going on," announced Max, smacking his left fist into his right hand. Mariah frowned.  
  
"But how are you going to make sure that you guys can get back safely? And how do I going to get out of here?" Ray grinned, revealing his adorable pointed fangs.  
  
"Don't worry," he said as he held out a ball of string that could be seen trailing some distance behind him, "I tied one end of it to the entrance and unraveled it as we walked so that we're guaranteed to be able to return without a problem." Mariah was amazed at his genius. . "Wow," she managed to say.  
  
"If you want, you can go back now," said the brunette, also known as Hilary (A/N Because I'm too lazy to give an introduction) "we'll just go on ahead. Mariah shook her head furiously.  
  
"I'm not walking all the way back there by myself!" she exclaimed. "And plus, you guys might need my help!" Hilary grinned.  
  
"It's all settled then!" she exclaimed, "Let's go, then!" All of them nodded enthusiastically as they dashed down the hallway with Hilary in the lead. They turned into the next corner and all stopped dead in their tracks at the terrifying sight.  
  
"Ah, darn!" groaned Tyson, "Not another stupid fork!"  
  
***  
  
Sorry about making this chapter pointless and boring, but I assure you that the next chapter will be better!!!  
  
So to make it up to you, I'll give you a bit of a clip from the next chapter, but be warned, it is best if you skip the next part or you'll suffer the bad effects of a cliffhanger! *winks* Trust me; it's a loonnnngggg way down from here. ^^  
  
Next time, on Forbidden...  
  
~Clip~  
  
"Ouch, that was my head!"  
  
"Sorry. It's dark in here." Mariah sighed.  
  
"I don't think that it was a good idea to split up. It really is creepy here isn't it?" Ray shrugged.  
  
"Maybe. But I'm getting used to it." Then, a distant rumble echoed through the walls causing Mariah to squeak and grab on to the nearest object. That of course, happened to be Ray.  
  
"What's that sound?" Mariah hissed, completely unaware that she had literally thrown herself at a certain black-haired white tiger and was now snuggling into his chest... Ray shifted a bit, uneasy with the closeness between them but did not move away. Somehow, just somehow, he felt that it seemed... right...  
  
"I'm sure it's just the pipes in this place. They get pretty annoying after a while." He told her soothingly. Mariah nodded, his gentle voice reassuring her.  
  
The sound came again, this time a bit louder. Mariah could barely see Ray frown in the shadows.  
  
"It sounds like..." he strained his ears to listen, "... someone talking." Mariah frowned.  
  
"But who would be down here at this hour?" Ray shrugged, looking equally as confused as she was.  
  
"I don't have a clue." The both of them cautiously took a few steps closer, trying to decipher the words. All of a sudden, there was a loud crash and an inhumanly voice spoke up, eerily bouncing off the walls.  
  
"Who's there?"  
  
~End of Clip~  
  
Well, what do ya thing? *grins* I warned ya! ^-~  
  
See ya next time!!  
  
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | \/ Do as the great arrow telling you! Review... ...or no cookies. ^^ 


	4. The Secret of the Corridors

Forbidden  
  
Oops, I remember in the first chapter, I just ranted about different things but I did not tell whether I owned Beyblade or not so here it is:  
  
~Disclaimer~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade...  
  
Claimer: Alright, I admit it, I own Beyblade, SUE ME! SUE ME! SUE ME!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not!  
  
Claimer: Do too!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Do n--- aw fine, believe what you want. But I warn you, the---  
  
Claimer: Yeah! I win! In your face!  
  
Disclaimer: But the la---  
  
Claimer: Uh huh! Oh yeah! Who da man?  
  
Disclaimer: The LAWY---  
  
Claimer: I AM!  
  
Disclaimer: But the lawyers...  
  
Me: x_x' Maybe next time I'll just skip this part...  
  
~End of Disclaimer~  
  
A/N Hope you enjoying this lousy story... *sigh* I'm really not a good writer...  
  
~Key:  
  
"................." talking  
  
'.................' thinking  
  
*** Beginning/End of Chapter  
  
** Change of Scene  
  
End of Key~  
  
NOTE: When I wrote, "How Can He Live Like That?" my fingers were always cold. Now, my toes are frozen! ... Darn, they just had to remove the carpet... *shivers* and I hate socks...  
  
Prepare for... FLUFF!  
  
Chapter 4: The Secret of the Corridors  
  
***  
  
"The left one! No, the right! Wait, I know, the one in the middle! Oh, I think the first one will do... maybe not... Oh, I know...!"  
  
"TYSON!!!" screeched the five other members of the search party. Tyson rubbed the back of his head bashfully.  
  
"Heh heh heh... maybe not..." the five all let out a large groan.  
  
"How about we split up instead?" suggested Ray, "We can cover more ground this way instead of standing around arguing." Mariah nodded in agreement.  
  
"There are six of us here, so we'll go in pairs," concluded Max.  
  
"That sounds fair enough," muttered Tyson, "but I still say that we should take the left one." That remark earned him a couple more groans and a lump on the head. "That wasn't very nice!" he whined, massaging his newly formed injury with both of his hands.  
  
"It served you right," Hilary mumbled with a vex sign on her forehead. Mariah looked on with wonder.  
  
"Remind me not to get on her bad side."  
  
**  
  
"Remind me why I got stuck with you again?" complained Tyson, rubbing his fifth bump.  
  
"Because we drew straws and lucked out," Hilary said in a controlled voice, "so deal." Tyson mumbled.  
  
"Stupid Emily and her stupid straws."  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"N-Nothing."  
  
"That had better been nothing." Tyson grimaced.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
*  
  
~Flashback~  
  
*  
  
"I have six straws with me. Two are blue, two are green and the other two are yellow," explained Emily, hold up her fist, "if you pick a blue, you go to the middle, if you pick a yellow, you go to the left and greens go right, is everything clear?"  
  
"Yes, sensei-sama," mumbled Tyson. Hilary gave him his second bump.  
  
(A/N Sensei means "teacher" or "master" in some cases.)  
  
"Go on," Emily offered Mariah a straw. Mariah closed her eyes before running her fingers along the straws before closing on one of them and pulling it out. Blue. Then Max went up. He got a green.  
  
Tyson and Hilary both stepped up at the same time bumping their head together as the result. That earned Tyson his third lump. ("Why didn't she get a lump?" Tyson thought inwardly.) The two of them glared intensely at each other, willing the other to back down before they both seized a straw and pulled it out.  
  
"Ha! I got a yellow, beat that!" they both yelled into each other's faces in unison. Then, after reasoning out what they had said, they both screamed out in terror.  
  
"WHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the others grimaced.  
  
"Your turn, Ray," said Emily, ignoring the war raging on behind her. ("I'm yellow! Go and crawl to another straw!" "Why should I? I got it first!" "You did not, you wench!" "Takes one to know one!" "Yeah! ... WHAT?!?!")  
  
Ray stepped up and pulled out one of the remaining two straws.  
  
Yup, you guessed it.  
  
"A blue, huh? Guess you'll be going with Mariah, which means I'll be going with Max!" Emily chirped.  
  
"I swear, it was rigged," Hilary muttered as they went their separate ways.  
  
"Ready to go?" asked Ray, extending a hand to Mariah, causing her cheeks to heat up again.  
  
"Yeah, sure," she answered before taking his hand and followed him to the middle path, carefully looking anywhere but at Ray. As soon as she stepped beside him, it felt as if everything else in the whole world had disappeared leaving just her and Ray, walking together hand in hand in a peaceful, wondrous world...  
  
"You idiot!" yelled a certain brunette, followed by a large thump, indicating Tyson's fourth bump.  
  
"What did I do?!"  
  
"Don't play innocent!!"  
  
"WHAT DID I DO?"  
  
"You know what you did!" Mariah sighed, rubbing her temples, Good things never seemed to last.  
  
*  
  
~End of Flashback~  
  
*  
  
Tyson grumbled again.  
  
"Come to think of it, why does Emily carry straws with her, anyway?" he mused aloud. Hilary smacked him.  
  
"That's not the point!"  
  
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" he yelled.  
  
"Fine!" she yelled as she stormed away in the opposite direction.  
  
"Good riddance!" Tyson yelled after her. After that exchange, Tyson continued down the path. After he stepped four paces, he paused and looked back down the hall.  
  
"That's funny. This is the part when she stomps back over and tries to tear my eyes out. I wonder what's taking her," he thought. After another minute he began to grow worried. "Hilary?" he called and when he received no answer, he dashed back up the hall. "Hilary? HILARY!"  
  
'What if something happened to her?' he thought anxiously. After rounding the corner, he spotted a limp form, propped up against the wall with its limbs sticking out in odd angles. "No..." he said, "You can't leave me, you just can't!" He ran over and pulled her lifeless form close to him and sobbed into her shoulder.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, Hil. I-I didn't mean what I said, honest! I'm s-so sorry!" Tyson cried. "I didn't mean it. I was just angry. Please forgive m-me." He continued sobbing for a few more moments. "I-I don't want to lose you. You don't know how much you mean to me!" Tyson tightened his grip on her. 'Wait,' he realized, 'she's still warm!' He turned her around to face him before face-faulting.  
  
There was a snooze bubble coming out of her mouth.  
  
"Why that little..."  
  
**  
  
"What's wrong, Em?" asked Max curiously. The bespectacled girl took a quick look down at what seemed to be some sort of blueprint with a frown on her face.  
  
"According to this blueprint, we should be near the west corridors where the storage room is," she glanced up at the walls with a thoughtful look on her face. She glanced back at the blueprint furrowing her eyebrows. "But that can't be..." she said softly, "this school isn't supposed to have a storage room!" Max looked taken aback.  
  
"What do you think that means?"  
  
"It means that something's really wrong here."  
  
**  
  
"Ouch, that was my head!"  
  
"Sorry. It's dark in here." Mariah sighed.  
  
"I don't think that it was a good idea to split up. It really is creepy here isn't it?" Ray shrugged.  
  
"Maybe. But I'm getting used to it." Then, a distant rumble echoed through the walls causing Mariah to squeak and grab on to the nearest object. That of course, happened to be Ray.  
  
"What's that sound?" Mariah hissed, completely unaware that she had literally thrown herself at a certain black-haired white tiger and was now snuggling into his chest... Ray shifted a bit, uneasy with the closeness between them but did not move away. Somehow, just somehow, he felt that it seemed... right...  
  
"I'm sure it's just the pipes in this place. They get pretty annoying after a while." He told her soothingly. Mariah nodded, his gentle voice reassuring her.  
  
The sound came again, this time a bit louder. Mariah could barely see Ray frown in the shadows.  
  
"It sounds like..." he strained his ears to listen, "... someone talking." Mariah frowned.  
  
"But who would be down here at this hour?" Ray shrugged, looking equally as confused as she was.  
  
"I don't have a clue." The both of them cautiously took a few steps closer, trying to decipher the words. All of a sudden, there was a loud crash and an inhumanly voice spoke up, eerily bouncing off the walls.  
  
"Who's there?" Mariah squeaked with surprise at the voice, clutching Ray's shoulders harder still. The heavy footsteps sounded like they were just around the next corner. "I know there's someone there. Show yourself or else!" Ray clamped a hand over Mariah's mouth, and pulled her closer to him.  
  
"Wait here," he hissed, "I'll go and find out who it is. I'll whistle if there's trouble and you focus on getting out of here. I'll come back and get you if the coast is clear." He let go of her and began to crawl forward but Mariah pulled him back.  
  
"I'm not letting you go alone, besides, I can take care of myself!" she said in a loud whisper. Ray looked a bit troubled.  
  
"No, I don't want you to get hurt," he answered decidedly, "I'll never forgive myself!"  
  
"And I won't forgive myself if YOU get hurt!" Mariah fought back, "I'm coming with you!" Ray closed his eyes and let out a sigh, and then he grinned.  
  
"You never give up, do you?" he asked. Mariah was taken aback at his question.  
  
'What does he mean?' she thought, her heart pounding. Ray grabbed hold of her arm.  
  
"I really like that in a girl. You've convinced me, Mariah, let's go!" Mariah blushed before looking away again.  
  
'Did he ... did he just ... compliment me?' she thought uncertainly.  
  
"You coming?" Ray's voice snapped her out of her trance.  
  
"Y-yeah." The two of them crept silently up the corner and pressed their backs against it. The thunderous breathing signaled that whoever was on the other side was doing the same. The thing and the two humans stayed in that position, all waiting of the other(s) to make a move.  
  
The ... thing ... apparently got annoyed with waiting and jumped out at the duo from around the corner, only to come face to face with a large metal pole which hit him right between the eyes a second later. The thing's eyes became unfocused and it danced around before falling heavily onto the ground.  
  
"Gottim!" Mariah exclaimed. Ray had bent over to examine the fallen ... person.  
  
"Oh ... my ... god ..." Ray said softly, "Mr. Nitro Jen!" Mariah frowned.  
  
"The chemistry teacher?" Ray nodded slowly before turning to her.  
  
"Do you know what this means?" Mariah's eyes widened.  
  
"Oh no!" she exclaimed suddenly, "that means we're going to have to take chemistry!!" Ray sweat dropped a bit.  
  
"Uhh... I had something else in mind..."  
  
**  
  
"Mr. Jen? Mr. Jen? Can you hear me? It's me, your student, Ray!" Nitro's eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Ray? Is that really you?" he asked, sitting up abruptly causing the two other humans to jump.  
  
"How did you end up here?" Ray asked, ignoring the teacher's question. Normally, questions like that were not meant to be answered.  
  
"Well," he replied scratching his head, looking flustered, "I was leaving the building and..."  
  
"And...?" Mariah and Ray inquired.  
  
"And... I took the left turn instead of the right..." The both of them fell over anime style while the man started laughing stupidly, rubbing the back of his head. ("Imagine that!" he said.)  
  
"Where are the other fifteen kids that disappeared?" Mariah asked. The chemistry teacher looked around.  
  
"They're all hanging out around here somewhere. The only problem is, they haven't got a clue to how to get back either! Would you fancy that?"  
  
"You mean..." Ray began,  
  
"...you were stuck here..." added Mariah,  
  
"...for three months..."  
  
"...in a basement?" they both finished. To avoid answering the question, the burly man suddenly got up.  
  
"Yeah yeah, that's what the other guy said too; anyway... what are you two waiting for? We've got kids to save!" he shouted as he headed down the hall. Ray and Mariah exchanged disbelieving looks.  
  
"Right..." Mariah mumbled.  
  
"Well," Ray sighed, "at least I've still got the string."  
  
**  
  
"...turns out that the kids that disappeared mysteriously at Beyville High were...not lost at all! They were just wandering around the basement for three months! And now, on sports ---" Mr. Jen clicked off the TV.  
  
"And that is why I was absent these months!" he concluded to the stunned class. "Now, we will move on to the class. Na stands for sodium and Cl for chlorine do therefore NaCl stands for sodium chloride..."  
  
"Stupid building designers..." mumbled Tyson.  
  
***  
  
There you have it, the strangest, most rushed chapter ever! Confused? Ask me a question and I'll be glad to clear things up for you!  
  
At least I put in a bit of fluff... if you can call it that.  
  
'Tis loooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggg. 2233 words! You owe me one! It is EIGHT pages! The longest chapter in my writing career!  
  
*Hands out cookies to reviewers* Thankies! Come again!  
  
NOTE: Hi, Melissa! There, you're in the story! ^^  
  
|  
  
\/ Hi! I'm an arrow! I point to things! Now I point to button! See button? Click! 


	5. Basketball Fever

Forbidden  
  
*stares absently in a random direction humming the beyblade theme song while randomly sketches a pic of Ray and Mariah kissing with Salima in the background with huge disbelieving eyes, then noticing you staring incredulously/ expectantly/ oddly /evilly /angrily /knowingly /hatefully at me*  
  
Oh! Hi again! I never dreamed that you would even dare enough to make it to the fifth chapter! *thumbs up* Wow! Good job! *notices some evil glares* *edges a bit farther away* Er... hay fever...?  
  
Please don't blame me if my ideas are old, boring and unoriginal. *sniffs* All the good ones were taken!  
  
And to one of my reviewers, I guess I really rushed the beginning chapters a bit, since I didn't expect to continue, plus, I'm way too lazy to write out the details. ^^; Heheheh. I'll rewrite the story afterwards if I have time. ^_^  
  
Quote of the Chapter:  
  
"It's a vast, vast world, filled with many minds and many fingers. In this world, original, can not describe many things." ---- Me  
  
On another note, Kenny (The Chief) makes a small entrance in this chapter! ^^ I wonder why the audience is cackling evilly...  
  
~Key:  
  
"................." talking  
  
'.................' thinking  
  
*** Beginning/End of Chapter  
  
** Change of Scene  
  
End of Key~  
  
Chapter 5: Basketball Fever  
  
***  
  
"I was SO worried about you! I knew I should have told you to take the right turn instead of the left!" Mariah backed away slightly.  
  
"It's alright! It's not your fault at all! C'mon Mari, we're all okay now, just calm down, okay?"  
  
"I'm so sorry, Mariah!! It's my entire fault! If I wasn't so steamed up, then I would have never left you alone!"  
  
"Mariam quit it! You're scaring even me!" The two girls were now sitting in the school cafeteria, 'quietly' discussing the events that had happened the previous night.  
  
"And to think that I call myself your friend..."  
  
"MARIAM!!!"  
  
"I guess I got carried away a bit." Well, not exactly quietly.  
  
"A bit, huh?" Mariah mumbled. Mariam crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.  
  
"Did I say anything?" Mariah inquired in a false innocent voice. Then she hesitated for a second after realizing something. "Why were you so angry before anyway?"  
  
"... I didn't say I was angry ..." Mariam mumbled quietly, staring down at her shoes.  
  
"Right...you were 'steamed up', not angry..." corrected Mariah.  
  
"I was not! I just had to get something out of my locker!" protested Mariam.  
  
"Did that have anything to do with Ray by any chance?" Mariah gulped at her friend's reaction.  
  
"Uhh, Mariam, I need that chair, you know." The sound of breaking metal ceased.  
  
"Sorry." Mariam apologized, placing the said broken chair back on the ground and tried to make it stand properly, "that guy just drives me nuts." Mariah frowned a bit.  
  
"What do you have against Ray, anyway?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Look, just drop it, okay? I guess I'm a bit touchy on that subject. Let's talk about this some other time." The pink-haired girl looked down dejectedly.  
  
"All right, then." Mariah then checked her watch. "What classes do we have today?"  
  
"We're starting P.E. today," replied Mariam, adjusting the chair's legs and trying to arrange them in a way so that it would not look like a twisted piece of metal. "Darn it! Why won't you stand?" she muttered before picking up the piece of metal and smacking it a couple of times. Mariah sweat dropped a bit.  
  
"Uhh, lunch period is almost over!" she said quickly, attempting to divert her friend's attention from the evil "un-chair", "Why don't we head to our first class?"  
  
"Oh. Sure," Mariam answered distractedly, twisting the metal bars one last time before dumping it on the ground behind her, "let's got then." She took a few steps forward before looking back at Mariah who had her mouth hanging open. "What's the matter? Weren't you the one who was in such a hurry to go? C'mon!"  
  
"Yeah...coming..." Mariah squeaked before tearing her eyes away from the perfectly reconstructed chair that the Saint Shield had just tossed over her shoulder which was now standing proudly by the cafeteria table in all its splendid glory.  
  
The White Tiger got up and followed her friend out the door.  
  
Moments later, the no-eyed wonder, Kenny What's-His-Last-Name, entered the room.  
  
"Ah! I have finally found a vacant space for me to enjoy my mayonnaise and banana sandwich!" the boy pulled the newly revived chair out from under the table and sat upon it. He was about to bite into his...most usual sandwich before he felt the metal bars of the chair creaking and shaking precariously...  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Who would have thought?  
  
Anyway, as we leave the computer genius and eyeless wonder, we moved on to better and more important things...  
  
Like basketball! Always a great sport that demonstrates teamwork, strategy, skill, sportsmanship and most importantly, mercy!  
  
"Now, it's time to pick the team captains. We'll make it fair so we'll have one boy and one girl. So, Mariam, you're on the Blue team and Ray will be the captain of the Red team." Sparks could be seen flying.  
  
"You're so going down." Mariah heard Mariam mutter. The pink-haired girl's insides seemed to freeze.  
  
"You have the first pick, Ray. Both of you start off with a boy, and then you alternate with a girl."  
  
"I'll take Lee." A black-haired boy with side-burns and an overly large nose walked up.  
  
"I'll take Ozuma." A boy with spiky black hair and a red bang walked up next to Mariam.  
  
"Then I'll take Emily." The bespectacled girl that was with Mariah in the basement stepped up.  
  
"Hilary." The talkative brunette strolled over.  
  
"Kai." A slate-haired teen with blue markings on his face and reddish-brown eyes moved wordlessly to Ray's side.  
  
"Tala." A tall, red-headed boy with ice blue eyes sided with Mariam.  
  
Ray looked thoughtfully at the remaining four teens. "Uhh... I'll take Salima." Mariah looked up, hearing the familiar name and saw a girl with long fiery red hair tied into a ponytail and gentle ruby eyes.  
  
'Wow,' she thought, 'so that's Salima. She sure looks nice. No wonder Ray likes her.' After thinking those words, Mariah was surprised to realize that there was an uncomfortable lump in her throat. 'Why do I feel like this? Is it because I'm jealous?' she asked herself.  
  
"And I get Mariah." Mariam said firmly. Something in her tone sounded something like... envy? No, that couldn't be right. Max, Tyson, Spencer and Kane groaned and Bryan looked as though he had just been made to swallow a fly. (A/N But I sure wonder why...) It looked like that they had to sit this game out. The coach then clapped his hands.  
  
"All right guys. I want a nice clean game, you got it?" The ten students nodded absently and lined up around the starting circle. (A/N Forgive my crude language, I don't play basketball.) The gym teacher then held the basketball up in between Ray and Mariam.  
  
"Ready? Go!" The whistle sounded and the ball flew up into the air. Both Ray and Mariam bent their knees and got ready to spring.  
  
BAM. Their hands collided with the ball viciously and the ball soared upwards and both captains stared up at it as it spun around in mid air. Suddenly, a blur of red sailed through the air and in the next second, the ball was already making its way down the Red team's side of the basketball court.  
  
"Shoot it, Tala!" Hilary screeched and glared at Tyson when he stuck his fingers in his ear. Tala dodged past both Emily and Lee who tried to block him and ran to the key. (A/N or the spot 'neath the basket) He took a few extra steps to gain some speed and then sprang up to the basket. The Red and Blue teams all held their breaths as he was about to shoot the ball.  
  
All of a sudden from out of nowhere, a certain blue-haired captain of the Blade Breakers leapt up at the last moment and stole the ball before heading up the court towards the Blue team's net. Delighted yells and angry screams responded to this clever maneuver.  
  
Kai dodged the Blue defenders and since that most of the Blues were on the other side of the court; he easily gained an early lead for his team. Mariam gnawed her bottom lip in frustration. There was no way that she could let Ray Kon and his 'little' team get the best of her. She had to come up with a strategy.  
  
The whistle sounded and Hilary tossed the ball back into play. Mariah caught it and dribbled down to the Red basketball net. She ducked under Lee's outstretched arms who had nearly threw himself over her and streaked to the net. But just as she neared her goal, a mop of red hair had flew past her and taken possession of the ball. Mariah whipped around to find out just what had happened in time to see Salima pass the ball to Ray who avoided Ozuma and scored.  
  
"... and what an upset this is, folks! With some great teamwork between Ray and Salima, Red has now earned a 4 point lead! Will the Blues be able to catch up?" Bored out of his mind, Tyson Kinomiya had stolen a microphone and was now standing on a balcony overlooking the court, doing the commentary. Several people rolled their eyes in response.  
  
Mariam growled. This did not look good for the Blues.  
  
"All right, everyone, this is what we're going to do..."  
  
"We have a substitution for the Blues!" Tyson announced.  
  
"Bryan is coming in for Hilary!" Max chirped, who had just made his way to the balcony. "So, Tyson, what do YOU think of this match so far?"  
  
"I'd have to say, Max, this game will be close!" The Brad Best wannabe replied.  
  
The whistle sounded again. Mariah tossed the ball in to Mariam who immediately seized it and headed down the court once again.  
  
"...Mariam with the ball ... she passes it to Tala ... he's about to shoot ... he shoots ... and he sc--- hang on ... it's Ray in possession ... he dodges Mariah and Ozuma and ... WHOA, that was BRUTAL!" Bryan had just pounced on Ray in a flying tackle causing them to land in a heap on the floor with the poor white tiger gasping for breath. This earned The Red team a couple of boos and a penalty.  
  
"We have another substitution for, the Blue team!" yelled Max.  
  
"We have, Spencer filling in for Emily!" yelled AJ Tyson.  
  
Ray took the penalty shot. Because of the fact that he hadn't fully recovered from the foul, he missed the second shot. Mariah then grabbed the ball and did an over head pass which Mariam received on the other end. Just as she was about to shoot...  
  
"That was SO not cool!" Max Best yelled.  
  
"You shouldn't hit girls!" AJ Tyson shouted down. Spencer had come out of no where and punched Mariam in the nose. Lucky for her, nothing broke.  
  
"You, okay?" asked Ozuma worriedly.  
  
"Yeah, I'm just peachy." Mariam growled, getting back up on her feet. She took the penalty shot and scored the Blue Teams first two points. Then Lee through the ball back into play to Salima who reached out to catch it but Mariah intercepted it and scored.  
  
~20 minutes later~  
  
"All right folks, this is the last 30 seconds of the entire game, this game could got either way! The score is now, 30 - 28 and the Reds are in the lead yet again! Who will win? And who will lose?" Hilary asked the audience which now consisted of the gym teacher and Bryan.  
  
Mariam and Ray were now surveying each other watchfully. Every member on the team minus Kai, were sporting injuries. Tala rubbed the black eye that was generously given to him by Spencer and Lee was grabbing his nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The rest of them were decorated by bruises and scratches. Bryan could no longer sub in due to the fact that he committed a foul on every player at least once in a time span of two minutes, whether they were on his team or not. The whistle sounded once again.  
  
Ray seized the ball and sprinted up the court, sweating hard. Just then, Mariam flew at him from his left and seized the basketball. After watching the struggle for four seconds, the rest of the team members decided to pitch in and help.  
  
"The ref should call a jump ball, but he seems to enjoy this little scene too much..." said Emily, wonderingly. "But I'm sure that this shouldn't be allowed in basketball..."  
  
Mariah, Ozuma, Tala and Kane ran to Mariam's side and seized the ball the best they could while Salima, Lee, Kai and Spencer rushed to Ray's aid. Due to the fact that ten players were trying to grab the ball and the ball was only so big, the players tripped over each other and tumbled into a heap.  
  
Mariah tried to lift herself up on her elbows with a groan but could not get up, thanks to the massive weight on her legs.  
  
"Are you okay?" her heard a voice ask, centimeters from her face. She looked up in shock and found herself staring into a pair of captivating golden eyes.  
  
"Yeah, fine," she breathed. Someone behind her jostled her a bit and she was forced a bit closer. She gulped. Their noses were now touching and if she tilted her head any higher than they would...  
  
"Hey, check out Ray and Mariah!" Tyson yelled suddenly. Everyone froze and Mariah felt her cheeks heat up... but not in a pleasant way. She suddenly realized how their position looked like to someone else's point of view.  
  
Ray had fallen on his back and had propped himself up on his shoulders. Mariah on the other hand, was lying on top of his chest with only her elbows supporting her on either side of his middle...  
  
And of course, there were about four people on her legs trying to get off...  
  
Just then, the whistle sounded, signaling the end of the game. The Reds had won.  
  
***  
  
A/N the votes are tallying up, and I think that it will be close, folks! Keep those votes coming!!  
  
A/N #2 Sorry if this chapter was confusing and sorry to all basketball fans and haters. I was bored and I didn't know what else to write and I also sort of wanted to drag it out a bit since you guys said that I rushed the other chapters too much. ^_^ Well, you can't have everything in life...  
  
A/N #3 And for those of you who asked me why I chose to make Mariah get trapped in the basement of the school with a huge bunch of twists and turns and creepy "monsters", I also had the idea in "How Can He Live Like That?" so I just threw that in. *sigh* I really miss writing that story... maybe I'll do a sequel... maybe...  
  
A/N #4 I might occasionally refer to the beybladers as "White Tiger" or "Saint Shield" so just please bear with me. This story is AU and beyblades don't have much to do with it.  
  
NOTE!! It seems that Claimer will be serving the next week in jail for defying copyrighted properties (refer to the Disclaimer on the last chapter). Please help bail him out by submitting a letter to the law firm, telling them that Claimer was falsely accused. (Just drop it by the review box.) Thank you and have a good day. ^_________^  
  
Frontier of Darkness, a.k.a. Dark Magician 


	6. A Flirty Problem

Forbidden  
  
Hey! It looks like that you've all made it back in one piece! ^^ Congratulations!  
  
~Disclaimer~  
  
Disclaimer: Frontier of Darkness does not own Beyblade or its characters. *sniffs* I miss Claimer already.  
  
Me: It looks like we still haven't got our Claimer back. So far, one wanted him back, one said he had it coming, and the rest of you either don't bother to read this, or just don't give a care. *looks thoughtful* should he come back, or not?  
  
~End of Disclaimer~  
  
And, enter the amazing, adorable, often overlooked and definitely, NOT android, the one and only Zeo! *crowd cheers and applauds* I swear, he's a mini Ryou Bakura!  
  
~Key:  
  
"................." talking  
  
'.................' thinking  
  
*** Beginning/End of Chapter  
  
** Change of Scene  
  
End of Key~  
  
Chapter 6: A Flirty Problem  
  
***  
  
"Ow! It won't stop bleeding!!" Lee whined, holding his injured nose, "why d'you have to pass the ball to me so hard?" Ray looked slightly apologetic.  
  
"Sorry." Lee glared over at him. If it was some other time, it might have looked menacing, but for now, he looked like a wounded elephant. The bell rang, signaling the end of the horrid school hours. The boys were now in the locker room of the gym, getting ready to leave. Strangely enough, although it was only three fifteen in the afternoon, the hours of daylight had begun to diminish.  
  
"You traitor..." Lee mumbled. Tala chuckled.  
  
"Actually, it's your own fault for having such a large nose." he said, smirking a bit. Lee looked murderous and almost menacing this time.  
  
"Watch it, Tala What's-Your-Last-Name!" he spat, "if I weren't wounded, and if you didn't look half-dead already, I'd be all over you!" Tala gave him a cocky grin.  
  
"You're my best friend too, Lee." He said sarcastically. The "best friend" growled.  
  
"Just keep telling yourself that."  
  
"Sure. Whatever you say..." Lee shook the fist that wasn't clenched around his nose.  
  
"Watch your back, Tala! You should be careful in case you have an accident!" The rest of the boys in the locker room laughed...minus one slate-haired phoenix, one gigantic blond whale and one foul committer extraordinaire...  
  
"So, what did you guys think of the game? That Mariah girl's pretty good, wouldn't you say?" asked Max who had just entered the locker room, flopped down onto a bench next to Ray.  
  
"I guess it was okay," Tala shrugged, "minus the losing and the injuries of course. Man, whoever knew whale-boy and pasty-face over there hit so hard."  
  
"Yeah," complained Kane, "and he was supposed to be on our side but..." He stopped his sentence when he heard a low growl.  
  
"Hello? I'm standing right over here: three meters away from you." 'Pasty- face' snarled. Kane backed away ever so slightly.  
  
"Well, let's make it four, shall we?" he said to himself, taking great care to not let anyone else hear. In some cases, there are guys that you would be foolish to turn your back on. In this case, it doesn't matter whether or not you turn your back on this guy. He's dangerous either way.  
  
Ozuma looked around thoughtfully.  
  
"Where did Tyson go?" he asked. Max hid a grin.  
  
"Well, about that microphone he stole..."  
  
"KINOMIYA-SAN!!!!" (A/N Mr. Kinomiya)  
  
"I swear! I didn't mean to break it! It just slipped out of my hand! Honest!" A growl followed by a couple of yelps could be heard. Everyone in the room sweat dropped.  
  
"O...k...." mumbled Ray, "...nobody say anything..." Everyone nodded in agreement.  
  
"............"  
  
"............"  
  
"............"  
  
"............"  
  
"............"  
  
"...my nose hurts..." whimpered Lee.  
  
".................................................................."  
  
Everyone else in the room sweat dropped.  
  
**  
  
Meanwhile, in the girl's locker room, Hilary tried desperately to cheer her friend up.  
  
"Aw, c'mon Mari, it's just a game! Why are you so down for?" asked Hilary, trying to lighten the mood. Mariam didn't answer and stared down at her lap emotionlessly. Hilary tried again. "Hey, how 'bout we go out for a burger?" Still no answer. Hilary started to get impatient. "Look, can you at least tell us what's wrong with you?" Mariam was sitting on a small bench in the corner of the room with her navy blue bangs shielding her face from view. Hilary was kneeling next to her on the bench and Mariah sat across from them with a bottle of untouched spring water lying next to her. Salima had left the locker room ten minutes ago.  
  
"Maybe we should leave her alone for a while," suggested Emily quietly, who was now getting her jacket out of a cheap locker like the ones you find in the Science Center, "she's obviously upset about something and we should give just her some space."  
  
"Oh, fine," Hilary turned to Mariah who was now staring absently at her shoe laces with a tinge of red to her cheeks, "so, d'you want to go out for a burger?" Snapping out of her trance-like state, Mariah looked around a bit confused.  
  
"Huh? Where am I?" Hilary grumbled.  
  
"Doesn't anyone want to out for a burger anymore? Sheesh. People these days." Mariah stared at the brunette curiously for a moment and went back to staring at her laces.  
  
'Back in the basketball court,' she thought, picturing the scene for before when she and Ray had that little "incident", 'my heart was racing so fast, and he had a strange look in his eyes. Could it be that...?' Suddenly, Mariah banged her fist on the bench, causing everyone in the room to jump.  
  
"Argh! Enough already!" she told herself out loud. "Stop thinking about that!" Everyone stared at her oddly.  
  
"Eh?" asked Emily. "Is something the matter, Mariah?"  
  
"So does that mean you want to go out for a burger, then?" asked Hilary hopefully. Hilary shifted slightly as four pairs of eyes turned to look at her. "What?"  
  
(A/N ;)  
  
"Guys," began Mariah abruptly, causing the four pairs of eyes to focus on her instead, "I think I'll go on ahead. I've still got some homework to finish, so I'll see you all tomorrow."  
  
"S-Sure. Go right ahead," stammered Hilary looking depressed. The brunette let out a sigh. "I guess she doesn't want to go for a burger after all."  
  
"Hilary?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Shut up about the burgers already."  
  
**  
  
"Well, it seems safe enough..." muttered Ray as he had himself a quick glance around his surroundings. Then he flashed a look at his other two companions. "What do you think?"  
  
"Things aren't always what they seem to be," stated Tala, firmly.  
  
"It could be a trap," agreed Kai.  
  
"Ditto on that," responded a foreign voice, causing the three teens to hiss in surprise. The three quickly turned to face a younger boy with large, innocent, aqua eyes and light green hair.  
  
"Zeo! What are you doing here?" The said boy, NOT android, grinned back.  
  
"I was just going to ask you," he replied simply, "what are you guys doing here in the broom cupboard?" The trio hesitated, at a loss for words.  
  
"Well, er, we're looking for something!" exclaimed Tala, just a little too shiftily.  
  
"Right. And I'm the tooth fairy. Seriously, you can tell me," demanded Zeo. Ray let out a long suffering sigh.  
  
"Fine. I'll give you a hint: What is obsessed, hopeless, evil, and stampeding?" Zeo's eyes widened in realization as he let out an understanding, oh!  
  
"Fan girls, huh?" he asked, sympathetically.  
  
"Yep," responding three voices in unison.  
  
"You're lucky, Zeo. You're only in grade nine. Freshmen fan girls seem to be a lot less violent," Ray commented. Zeo grinned.  
  
"Yeah, but 'Things aren't always what they seem to be,' right?" he asked, mischievously. "So, why are you guys hiding in a 'broom cupboard', out of all places?" The said guys looked grim.  
  
"They cornered us as soon as we left the locker room," Ray answered.  
  
"And we were forced to retreat here and wait until they passed," Kai said at last, "there were no other alternatives. It was an escape, or die situation."  
  
"And from the looks of it, all of you decided to live," Zeo confirmed.  
  
"I guess it does."  
  
Tala sighed dramatically. "Why did god have to make me so damn irresistible?" The comment earned him a roomful of groans.  
  
"That's to make up for your lack of brains," Kai answered, smirking. Tala scowled.  
  
"Then what about you, huh?" he shot back.  
  
"I guess the gods were more generous. I have seemed to receive my full share of brains as well as yours," Was the reply. Tala growled, then broke into a grin.  
  
"Man, you should talk more often," he commented.  
  
"Yeah," Ray mock agreed, "Lee can now probably add another person to his: People Who Drive Me Crazy list."  
  
Zeo then cleared his throat to catch the other boy's attentions.  
  
"Guys, I think we just got discovered." Tala and Ray paled as they rushed over to peek through the crack in the closet wall that was still un- repaired due to the cheap school budget and lazy staff.  
  
"There they are, girls!!" exclaimed a loud, preppy voice.  
  
"Shoot." Tala and Ray's hopes sank as they quickly dropped to the floor.  
  
There were nineteen of them in total, Zeo noted. And all of whom were not abiding the dress code.  
  
"Who is it, this time?" asked Kai, in a slightly irritated tone.  
  
"The Mary Sue gang," Ray gulped. Zeo shot him a quizzical glance.  
  
"Who are they?" he asked in a low whisper.  
  
"Only the most notoriously demented group of fan girls in the entire district! Haven't you heard of them?" Zeo shook his head.  
  
"No, should I know of them?" he asked.  
  
"...I'm not answering that..." Tala muttered. "The gang is led by Mary Kringle and Sue Kris."  
  
"..."  
  
"Ray! TALA! KAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "  
  
"We're so dead..."  
  
***  
  
Well, another day, another chapter and another cliffy.  
  
Questions: Will Tala, Ray and Kai get out of this alive? Why do I write such pointless chapters? Why am I asking all these questions?  
  
Answers: Well, they might! I'm just lazy and bored. I don't know...  
  
*snore* Wah! I don't' feel like writing today. *yawn* Past me bedtime...  
  
I feel so tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ... tired ...  
  
You get the point.  
  
Anyway, good night and sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite and I know that this is a run on sentence and I don't give a care because I'm tired and I'm sleepy and I think that it's too late care about grammar and so there and .... (*yadda yadda yadda*) 


	7. Salima

Forbidden  
  
Hi.....  
  
....  
  
.....  
  
I thought you wanted to read the story! What are you still sticking around the top for? *nudges you down the page* Go on! Shoo!  
  
A/N YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!! I got over my writer's block after re-writing this whole chapter five times! Didja miss me? :D  
  
And to Crazy Rei Luva: I don't see any harm in letting you be in this story. That is, if no one else decides to ask me... and if my friends don't kill me first. ^^ I'm not sure about the "Tala's future girlfriend" thing... since azn_angel22, my good friend is completely obsessed with him and might assassinate me... *ahem* :3  
  
~Key:  
  
"................." talking  
  
'.................' thinking  
  
*** Beginning/End of Chapter  
  
** Change of Scene  
  
End of Key~  
  
Chapter 6: Salima  
  
***  
  
It was an unusually dim afternoon; the lazy sun had retired behind the clouds long before its scheduled exit. Shadowy clouds rose instead to fill the empty spot whereupon the sun once hung over the darkened buildings. Soon, the city was veiled in a fog of semi-darkness. Four dark figures dashed through the darkened halls of the place known as school, as if trying to evade something, darting in and out of hallways, pausing ever now and then, to check if there was any sign of their pursuers.  
  
"H-have... we... l-lost them?" choked out an aqua-haired boy, finally collapsing onto his knees, completely out of breath.  
  
"It seems like it," muttered a golden-eyed teen, checking over his shoulder for something to prove him wrong. The four of them waited patiently for a few minutes, keeping their eyes and ears alert for any signs of danger. As soon as they were sure that the danger had passed, they cautiously stepped out of their hiding place.  
  
"I don't see anyone... do you?" Tala kept his voice lowered... just in case.  
  
"Shhhhh! Quiet!" Kai hissed.  
  
The faint sounds of footsteps were heard traveling in the direction opposite to them.  
  
"That's good," said Ray, wiping perspiration off of his brow, "They made the wrong turn. I guess we'll see them in a week, then."  
  
"The building designer had a cracked sense of humor," agreed Kai, in a neutral tone.  
  
"It sure got dark in a hurry," Zeo spoke up suddenly, glance out of a window, "I wonder if it's going to rain."  
  
***  
  
The redhead furrowed her eyebrows and gave an impatient glance down at her watch; 4:30 p.m. Tapping her foot against the pavement to past the time, the girl brushed a strand of stray hair from her eyes and leaned on the wall of the run-down restaurant behind her.  
  
"I just can't believe I missed that bus!" she growled to herself. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have taken the other turn back at school! I bet the building designers thought it was really amusing to create twenty different false passageways next to the real ones." She glanced dejectedly at the schedule taped on the bus stop and sighed, since the next bus would come half an hour later. "Great. Just, great. Guess I'll be here for a while."  
  
Pushing herself off of the wall of the restaurant, she sat down on a nearby wooden bench (and winced due to the splinters) and pulled out a text book and began to read; Practical Algebra-- a self-teaching guide.  
  
Just as she was trying to figure out how: 2a + 3a + 4ay - 4a + 7z - 4 equaled (2+3-4) a + 4ay + 7z - 4, a small drop of water fell down from the heavens and created small splotches on her page. Looking up wearily, Salima stifled a groan as mother natural decided to give the Earth a light shower.  
  
"What else can go wrong?" she sighed, rubbing her temples with one hand and pushing her soaked Math book back into her book bag. Her question was soon answered when bolts of lightening flashed and danced through the stormy sky, followed by the loud booming crash that was thunder. It looked that bath Mother Nature had decided to give the Earth, is turning into a battle.  
  
"I just had to ask... didn't I? Why do things have to always be so cliché?"  
  
Shaking her damp head to rid herself of the thought, Salima tried to look for a place to get out of the rain. The once busy streets were empty except of the occasional little boy, running from his angry mother or sister with her umbrella in his hand. The drenched redhead wished that she too, had thought to bring an umbrella.  
  
Shivering due to the rain, she couldn't help but wonder if things could get any worse. And as always, her question was answered when the bus came blindly pushing through the streets and drove on, completely overlooking her, oblivious to the fact that the poor, shaking girl standing next to the bus stop had just missed her last bus.  
  
"Why does it feel like that someone out there really hates me?" asked Salima to no one in particular.  
  
(A/N That would be my brother... -_-; *looks over at said brother doodling Xs on a pic of Salima* Um.... personally, I have nothing against Salima. I'm just torturing her because it's essential to the plot of this chapter.)  
  
**  
  
"Aw, looks that it IS raining..." sighed Hilary. She turned away from the window of the library and hugged her knees to her chest, sulking. Emily turned her head away from her Math book slightly to look at her.  
  
"What's got you all down and depressed? It's been raining since the beginning of time, and I never heard you complain before," she inquired, lifting up an eyebrow from behind her glasses.  
  
"Yeah... but I wanted to get a burger today."  
  
"..."  
  
"What? Was it something I said?"  
  
"..."  
  
"What's the matter?"  
  
"Nothing. Just shut up about the burgers." Hilary gave the bespectacled girl a sheepish grin which reminded Emily forcefully of Tyson.  
  
"Okay, okay. I'm just messin' with ya." She laughed. Emily gave her a playful glare before turning back to her studying.  
  
Hilary stared back out of the window with a slightly worried look on her features, replaying her laughter.  
  
"Do you think Mariah got caught out in the rain?"  
  
"She's fine. She has her umbrella with her." Emily said, jotting down some notes into her notebook.  
  
"Okay. I'll stop worrying."  
  
**  
  
Mariah walked rather quickly towards her new apartment, struggling to hold up her flimsy umbrella which seemed in danger of snapping in half against the annoying autumn wind.  
  
"...seven dollars, what a rip-off! Heck, the only thing this piece of junk is useful for is kindling!" she scowled, trying to keep the piece of kindling open with her arm. "But, I *should* be grateful for things given to me, for there are others that are worse off then I am," Mariah remembered her parents' words.  
  
Then, as she walked on, the familiar figure of a soaking girl, kneeling against the wall of an old run-down restaurant with her eyes closed swam into view. After brushing a couple droplets of water from her lashes Mariah recognized the redhead as Salima.  
  
'What's she doing here, out in the rain?' she pondered, before rushing over. The girl opened a bleary ruby red eye in confusion as an umbrella slid over her head. Then, both of her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Mariah, bending over her with a concerned look on her face.  
  
"Salima? What are you doing out here?" she asked softly.  
  
"M-Mariah...?" Salima stuttered, half because of the cold and half in disbelief. "Is that r-really you?"  
  
"You're going to catch a cold like that! Here, put this on," Mariah pulled off her jacket and draped it over Salima's bare shoulders.  
  
"T-Thank you..." whispered Salima flashing Mariah a grateful smile, who grinned back.  
  
"It's no problem," Mariah said kindly, her own mood lightening up, "but you still didn't tell me why you were out here." Salima blushed a bit from embarrassment at being found sitting in a little corner against an old deserted restaurant.  
  
"I sort of missed the last bus home and I couldn't find anywhere else to go," she said quietly, then wincing at how pathetic that sounded. She suddenly realized that she could have gone elsewhere but was too distressed to remember.  
  
"Where do you live?" Mariah asked out of curiosity, helping the other girl to her feet.  
  
"I sort of live near the edge of the city. My parents encouraged me to come here, though. Said that the schools near our home were not... that great." Mariah raised her eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"Whoa, and you have to take a bus every day? It must be annoying." The fuchsia haired girl said empathically. "How are you going to get home?"  
  
"I think I'll just have to find somewhere else to stay tonight. My parents don't have a car and I don't have enough money right now for a taxi, plus, my parents forbade me to ride in a taxi alone since the crime rates are kind of high. The problem is..." she trailed off, wanting to rephrase what she wanted to say.  
  
"You don't have any place to stay, right?" Mariah finished for her. Salima gave a slight nod. "What about Ray?" she asked, ignoring the uncomfortable lump in her throat. Surprisingly, Salima shook her head.  
  
"I'd rather not... intrude on his family at the moment..." Her words were honest enough, but something about the way she said it made Mariah think that there was something more to it, but she let it slide... for now.  
  
"How about..." Mariah cocked her head to the side thoughtfully, "you stay at my house tonight!" Salima's eyes widened in surprise. (A/N She does that a lot now, doesn't she?)  
  
"I couldn't possibly...! I... uh... I don't think your family..." she tried to think of an excuse. Mariah's eyes softened.  
  
"C'mon, Salima. It's fine with me. And besides, my parents always encourage me to bring friends over. What do you say?"  
  
"Um... I don't want to be rude or anything... I don't think..."  
  
"Come on!"  
  
"Oh... all right then... thank you..." Mariah smiled.  
  
'I just feel like I can't hate her. She seems to be a very nice person. I shouldn't let my emotions judge someone, before I get to know them. Although... I still can't but help feel a little envious.' She thought.  
  
***  
  
*stretches and yawns* Finally! I'm sorry it took so long, but I suddenly got a huge urge to write... ^^; must be the stress of homework, or maybe it's a spur of the moment, thing. Anyway, I hope you're not too furious with me. And I do hope you'll review and tell me what you think! Maybe I'll get more motivation to write.  
  
~Frontier of Darkness 


End file.
